What’s Moneyland? That’s what the primary half of this “The Missing Cryptoqueen” episode is about. The second half is about Frankfurt, town the place Jamie and Georgia assume that Dr. Ruja could be hiding. In any case, Moneyland is that legendary place the place the cash that millionaires and company entities need to disappear goes. The idea comes from british journalist Oliver Bullough, who “has spent many years investigating the ways illicit money flows around the world, including in Eastern Europe.” He’s this episode’s star visitor.
The Frankfurt half, nonetheless, is probably the most thrilling phase of the entire podcast to this point. The manufacturing crew actually stepped up their investigative sport and received nearer to Dr. Ruja than any police division ever will. We know our summaries are phenomenal, however we suggest that everybody listens to that second half a minimum of.
Remember, you may obtain episodes directly from the BBC, or hear to “The Missing Cryptoqueen” by Apple, Spotify, or iVoox.
In any case, let’s go to Moneyland!
About “The Missing Cryptoqueen,” Episode Seven – “In Plain Sight”
Is Dr. Ruja alive? Before even mentioning Moneyland, producer Georgia Catt confirms a attainable Dr. Ruja sighting to presenter Jamie Bartlett. The employees of an Athens restaurant remembers somebody with Dr. Ruja’s traits as a part of a celebration of six. What they’re undecided about is precisely *when* did this occur. Interesting. The risk of a Dr. Ruja working round Europe would possibly’ve been the catalyst for the Frankfurt a part of the episode. But first, let’s get to Moneyland.
After listening to the essential info of the OneCoin case, journalist Oliver Bullough tells Jamie that after upon a time “Albania descended into anarchy because of a pyramid scheme.” As the crypto world has confirmed these days, these scams may be harmful. Then, Bullough explains what Moneyland is. Rich and good folks can assemble their “assets in such a way that they become invisible.” They can nonetheless use them to “buy political influence and nice houses and yachts.”
When it comes to different folks making an attempt to discover these belongings, although, they flip invisible. So, “that’s what Moneyland is, Moneyland is the place where these assets go.” This breaks Jamie, who asks if there’s zero likelihood of discovering them. Bullough tries to cheer him up by saying “It’s not zero chance. It’s, yeah. I mean, it’s been very well hidden, right?” And that’s not probably the most miserable a part of the episode. After that, they inform us that the UK has stopped their investigation into OneCoin. They simply gave up.
FTT worth chart for 11/18/2022 on FTX | Source: FTT/USD on TradingView.com
Moneyland Leads To Frankfurt
When issues look darker, “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” manufacturing crew will get into excessive gear. They flip their investigating arm up a number of notches and give attention to the Internet. “We put a lot on-line now, and that data can betray us. And that’s what took us to someplace we expect Dr. Ruja could be.“ That someplace is Frankfurt. Our heroes decide that Dr. Ruja’s ex-husband and her hidden daughter stay within the metropolis. Plus, her greatest good friend appears to have visited Frankfurt not too long ago.
They get there and they discover nothing, not a single hint. This half is excruciating. However, it leads Jamie and Georgia to a excessive-luxurious neighborhood that feels just like the place Dr. Ruja would stay. This is the place Monelyland leads to. In there, they discover a charismatic however annoying postman which may bear in mind the identify Ignatova. They go away that storyline open and “The Missing Cryptoqueen” returns to England.
To end the episode off, Jamie has a really attention-grabbing dialogue with Cameron, “a UK-based OneCoin promoter.” Is he a real believer or is he simply defending a particularly profitable enterprise? Cameron goes all in and carries the OneCoin celebration line to the very finish. Wow. This could be probably the most stunning a part of the entire episode.
Quotes From Episode Seven of “The Missing Cryptoqueen”:
Oliver Bullough, explaining how cash can disappear:
“If you are rich enough and well advised enough or clever enough, you construct your assets in such a way that they become invisible. They still exist, you can still use them to buy things, you can still use them to buy political influence and nice houses and yachts. But when it comes from someone trying to find them, whether that’s a journalist or a police officer, the assets are invisible. And so that’s what Moneyland is, Moneyland is the place where these assets go.”
Jamie Barlett on what led them to Frankfurt:
“There’s one place we haven’t looked, not really looked. And it’s probably the most obvious place of all, the Internet. We put so much online now, and that information can betray us. And that’s what took us to somewhere we think Dr. Ruja might be. Not Athens, Frankfurt. It took weeks of extremely boring internet research and painstakingly going back through everything we’ve learned so far.”
Extra Material, about “Moneyland”:
In The Guardian’s review of Oliver Bullough’s “Moneyland,” they quote a metaphorical definition of the novel time period:
“He conceives of it as a secret, parallel world, almost like something from a fairytale: “The very wealthiest people … have tunnelled into this new land that lies beneath all our nation states, where borders have vanished. They move their money … and themselves wherever they wish, picking and choosing which countries’ laws they wish to live by.”
The Guardian additionally says:
“He is surprisingly successful at getting some of the architects of the offshore world to open up, and is sensitive to the fact that some of its users have good reason to avoid governments, such as rich dissidents fearing the politically motivated confiscation of their assets. He also accepts an argument frequently put to him in notorious tax havens: that wealthier, less criticised countries such as Britain have been equally involved in building and maintaining Moneyland.”
Episode Credits
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett
Producer: Georgia Catt
Story marketing consultant: Chris Berube
Editor: Philip Sellars
Original music and sound design: Phil Channell
Original music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir
Previous Companion Guides For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast:
Ep. 01 – https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/ep01-dr-ruja-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/
Ep. 02 – https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/ep02-btc-killer-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/
Ep. 03 – https://www.newsbtc.com/altcoin/ep03-onecoin-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/
Ep. 04 – https://www.newsbtc.com/scams-and-fraud/ep04-onelife-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/
Ep. 05 – https://www.newsbtc.com/scams-and-fraud/ep05-mlm-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/
Ep. 06 – https://www.newsbtc.com/scams-and-fraud/ep06-dealshaker-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/
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